John's
Gospel. Jesus said to Nathaniel, "Because I said unto thee I saw thee
under the fig tree, believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things than
these. And He saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye
shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon
the Son of man." [Footnote: St. John i. 50, 51.]
The Lord Jesus had been revealing Himself to Nathaniel and this
conversation took place near Bethel, so that the reference to Jacob's
ladder was very forcible and the wonderful type was made clear.
When Jesus said that heaven would be opened, He meant not only opened just
once, but _remaining open_; so that ever since Christ ascended into heaven
we have lived and are still living under an "open heaven," which means
free intercourse between God and man, because Christ Himself is the
Ladder. It also means He is the one and only means of communication
between the sinner and God. It is "through Him we have access by one
Spirit unto the Father." [Footnote: Eph. ii. 18.] All that we know of God
comes to us through Him, and all the grace we receive from God comes
through Him. So Jacob's ladder is as real to us now as it was to him then,
for it connects the seen with the unseen. It is possible for us now to
have Christ's Presence with us always and everywhere, for He says Lo, I am
with you alway. [Footnote: Matt. xxviii. 20.]
But there was something more wonderful for Jacob to see even than the
ladder.
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